British Values

‘To create and enforce a clear and rigorous expectation on all schools to promote the fundamental British values of; democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs’

At St. Catherine’s these values will be upheld, promoted and reinforced in a variety of ways.

Democracy

There are opportunities for democracy across the school. Our school council is run by elected representatives from each class. Children have their voices heard through this forum as well as regular ‘pupil voice’ activities such as questionnaires or interviews with senior staff and governors.

The Rule of Law

The importance of laws (or rules) are constantly referred to throughout the school day here at St. Catherine’s. Each class creates their own set of ‘rules’ for the year based on the behaviours that they believe are important to them. All children follow the Golden Rules and every parent, child, teacher and head teacher signs the Home-School Agreement.

Individual Liberty

The pupils at our school are encouraged to make choices; in their work, the level of challenge they undertake, activities and after school clubs. We are keen to promote their independence and so provide opportunities for the children to discuss and choose options. Children are encouraged to know, understand and exercise their personal freedoms and to use these safely, for example through PSHE lessons, e-safety sessions and protective behaviour sessions.

Mutual Respect

Here at St. Catherine’s we embrace and promote Christian values throughout the school. Each term we focus on one value;

Autumn Term 2016: Justice/Trust

Spring Term 2017: Service/Forgiveness

Summer Term 2017: Care for Creation/Thankfulness

All of our school’s Golden Rules are based on respect for each other and these high expectations are promoted by all staff.

Tolerance of Different Faiths and Beliefs

Though we are a Church school, we welcome families of every faith. We encourage those families to share their cultures and beliefs with us and through RE lessons learn about a variety of faiths. Children at our school have opportunities to visit different places of worship, hear from different faith leaders and learn about key religious celebrations.

Throughout the year we have assemblies that tackle issues such as; bullying and prejudice. We take part in county wide initiatives such as Anti Bullying Week and Show Racism the Red Card.